1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a cassette tape recording and/or reproducing apparatus and more particularly relates to a so-called cassette deck of the auto-reverse type.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In a cassette tape deck of the auto-reverse type, various kinds of switching mechanisms have been proposed to switch the tape running direction. For example, Japanese Laid-Open Utility Model Gazette Nos. 58-131457 and 60-155031 describe mechanisms for switching the tape running direction.
According to the tape running direction switching mechanism described in Japanese Laid-Open Utility Model Gazette No. 58-131457, a pair of pinch rollers corresponding to a pair of left and right capstan shafts is pivotally supported by a pair of pinch roller levers, which are, in turn, pivotally and separately supported by a mechanical chassis at left and right sides of a head base plate so that, when the two pinch roller levers are selectively rotated by operation members, the pinch rollers come in rotatable contact with the corresponding capstan shafts through a tape to selectively rotate the two pinch roller levers, thereby switching the tape running direction.
In accordance with the tape running direction switching mechanism described in Japanese Laid-Open Utility Model Gazette No. 60-155031, a pair of pinch rollers corresponding to a pair of left and right capstans are pivotally supported by a common pinch roller base plate, and the pinch roller base plate and a head base plate are in such a relationship that they can be moved in the front and rear direction and can also be rotated with respect to each other. The pinch roller base plate is selectively rotated in the clockwise or counterclockwise direction relative to the head base plate by a slide lever. When the pinch roller base plate is selectively rotated by the slide lever, one pinch roller comes in rotatable contact with the corresponding capstan through a tape and the pinch roller base plate is rotated by the slide lever, thereby switching the tape running direction.
In the former mechanism, the pair of pinch rollers corresponding to the pair of left and right capstans are pivotally supported by the respective pinch roller levers separately and the two pinch roller levers are independently supported by the mechanical chassis. Further, the two pinch roller levers are selectively operated by the independent operation members so that the mechanism becomes complicated in arrangement. As a result, the number of parts is considerably increased, the assembly process is more complex, and hence the former mechanism necessarily becomes expensive.
In the latter mechanism, the pinch rollers are pivotally supported by the common pinch roller base plate. However, the pinch roller base plate is rotated relative to a head base plate by the slide levers to select one of the two pinch rollers and to place it in rotatable contact with the corresponding capstan. Therefore, the latter mechanism also becomes complicated in arrangement and cannot easily be simplified.
In these mechanisms, the pinch rollers, heads and tape guides are provided in different members, such that a correlation, i.e. a mutual positional relationship, cannot be easily determined. Thus, a tape path also cannot be easily formed.